Myth Or Truth?
by Trisyl
Summary: Artemis Fowl goes hunting for the Medusa in sunnyside Greece, in order to petrify the LEP and steal their gold. But when an accident sets off... Wait! I won't tell you!*UPDATE* Chapter 4 is up. Please review.
1. Introduction to the Plot

Myth or Truth?  
  
Got bored with my other Artemis Fic. Don't expect to update much soon. Don't hold your breath. Meanwhile, read this one!  
  
Paragraph from Artemis Fowl: The Fortune Hunting Years:  
  
During Artemis Fowl Senior's recovery, Artemis Fowl Junior began to go into a frenzy of activity. This sentence might sound innocent, until investigations began and revealed what kind of activity. Criminal ones. However, the Greek expedition outclasses them all, as seen here. .  
  
Prologue:  
  
A young looking girl squatted on the rock, lazily drowsing in the warm Greek sun, watching the sheepherders go by. It would have been an ordinary scene, except for one thing. The girl had many snakes poised just over her shoulders. Her head wasn't exactly connected to the rest of her, and if you looked closely, there was a tiny seam of blood. The sheepherders didn't see her, and lucky that they didn't either. For this wasn't just a girl. This was Medusa.  
  
She jumped at the exact right moment, blindfold in hand. With strong fingers, she pulled a bleating sheep towards her, and covered its eyes, blinding it with the cloth. One of the boys had the idiocy to turn back.  
  
"Medu-" he called, but never finished the sentence. He was stone by the time the final syllable had reached his lips.  
  
Chapter One: Beginning:  
  
Artemis raised his head slightly, seated on his favorite leather computer chair, shooting Juliet an annoyed glance.  
  
"Juliet." He said, and she immediately raised her head from her magazine. Artemis could see some pictures from five feet away, and most of them were of bulky females, putting other females in headlocks. Oh well, he shrugged carelessly, if Juliet wanted to read about giant, unclean figures attempting to kill each other for sport, that was her choice.  
  
"Yes, Arty?" her sweet and confused voice rang through his thoughts. "This is a briefing." He informed her, wasting no words. "And that means no magazines." Her lower lip drooped.  
  
"But, but, but." she began, and met his granite-hard glance, gleaming with annoyance. Two pairs of eyes met, and hers dropped first. "Yes, Arty."  
  
Artemis settled back down, and smiled in satisfaction. The smile vanished immediately, and he clapped his hands three times to call attention and order. All activity within the room immediately ceased. He nodded.  
  
"Alright. This latest mission concerns Greece. I understand you know the country well, Juliet?" he said, glaring at her. Juliet nodded. Geez, when did dear, sweet Arty get so grouchy?  
  
"Yes Arty. There are great places there to catch a tan and-" Artemis hastily interrupted her before she could begin a true tourist's raving.  
  
"Apparently, someone has caught sight of the Medusa there. Now, it's simply a rumor, but there have been several," here he paused to cough. If it had been anyone else, Butler would have deemed it a laugh. But the Master, laughing? Not possible.  
  
Artemis resumed his speech. "Several statues of sheep and sheep herders." Juliet pursed her full red lips, and raised her hand childishly.  
  
"Arty?" she said, her head tilted one way, forming an adorable picture. "What good would the Medusa do you?"  
  
His smile turned cold and calculating. "My dear, even the LEP don't have anti-petrifying rays. And if the LEP are statues, no one will be left to protect the gold."  
  
To be continued. .  
  
Look, this is an experiment, okies? I will be doing several of these during the next couple months, to take my mind off my other fics. If there aren't at least 7 reviews, a new story will come by to take its place as an Experiment. If this succeeds, I will post another chapter. Don't worry; Chap. 14 of Escapes will be up soon.  
  
~Trisani  
  
P.S. Yes, he has different plans for Holly, all you H/A fans. But do you really think he'd mention them in front of delicate-feeling-ed JULIET?! 


	2. The Plot Thickens

Myth Or Truth?  
  
Hiya, guys! Tut, tut, I SAID 7 reviews! But, since I'm such a good mood, I'll give you the next chapter anyway. But THIS time I REQUIRE 10 reviews!! Muahahhahahahahahaha!!!  
  
On the private jet: (what makes you think that Artemis FOWL would take a common plane with common personages?)  
  
Artemis frowned, a normal face expression for him, while he was absorbed in his thoughts. Butler and Juliet both flinched as if they had been dealt a blow. But a blow they could've avoided. They couldn't avoid the Master's bad moods and storms. When the Master was unhappy, he made his lowers even unhappier, with his contagious mood, and orders, even more snappish and irritable than usual.  
  
"What is it, Artemis?" asked Butler concernedly. Artemis was like a little cousin to him. Albeit one that didn't put toads in his bed, but still. "Your father?" Then, he winced at his own stupidity. He mentally berated himself for being so insensitive. Juliet would kill him for saying that.  
  
Artemis didn't know yet, but the doctors were saying that his father wasn't going to survive. All the major frostbite hadn't done him any good. They were considering putting him on life support. Turning him into a vegetable, less verbally endowed children would have put it. The Master, of course, would think of some, virtuoso way of putting it.  
  
Artemis turned, his eyebrows raised questioningly. "My father?" he inquired, rather testily, Butler thought as his sweat glands began to work overtime for what he thought would be another searching questioning.  
  
"Artemis, I've been meaning to tell you this but-" he began, but instantaneously broke off with one look at Artemis' expression.  
  
Artemis' normal aspect, a cross between a scowl and a glare, the worst of both, Butler sometimes felt, changed to one of complete blandness, with just a hint of annoyance.  
  
"What is it, Butler?" he asked, forcing calm into his voice, and just a slight dose of boredom. It wouldn't do Butler any good to know that he was. . He was what, afraid? Artemis laughed dryly inside at the notion. But his heart was leaping into his throat. His father. . What of him?  
  
Butler swallowed convulsively, and, for the first time since his appointment as bodyguard to Artemis, regretted volunteering for the job. It wasn't that he didn't like Artemis. It was the fact that his mother chose Butler for the job of bringing unhappy news to him. Artemis was never at his best with bad news.  
  
"Your father's condition is shaky, and has become even more unstable than anything they should be able to contain, even with the, ah," he coughed lightly. "Encouragement that we've given them." The "Endorsement" had been a sizable amount of money that Artemis had been surprisingly easy-minded about parting with, strangely enough. He privately suspected that, after this venture, a couple of doctors would have to be beaten up. He grinned wickedly.  
  
Their plane began bumping slightly, and Artemis straightened as he stood. They had arrived.  
  
LEP HQ:  
  
"Hey there, eh, Captain Short." Chix leaned against her cubicle entrance, striking what she suspected he thought a handsome pose. She didn't bother to make her voice gentle, or kind. She used the "Mulch" voice that kept Foaly quaking from the last time he had teased her about having a crush on a certain pale Mud Boy.  
  
"Get out of my way, Verbil." She said impatiently. "Root said that I was to meet him AT THIS HOUR." She heavily accented those particular words. Chix merely smirked. "Oh, ol' Beetroot? I'm sure he won't mind if you drop in a few minutes late." Holly rolled her eyes. "Just. Get. Out. Of. My. Way. Now. Idiot." She spelled it out for him, slowly, so even he could understand, and added a few words that really told him exactly what her opinion of him was.  
  
She packed him off, swearing heavily, even more heavily than she had, a few minutes ago. "SHORT!" blared a loud voice in her ear. She jumped and about- faced. Commander Root stood before her, his face an ugly shade of magenta, clashing with his neon orange uniform.  
  
"What did I just hear you say, Captain?" he asked slowly, turning even more purple. Holly reddened, a shade to match "Beetroot", his nickname that also was coincidental with his choice in clothing. He had the sense of fashion of a beetroot. Made a lot of sense. It was true as well.  
  
"Nothing, Commander." She said, unconsciously straightening. He sighed. "What am I supposed to do with you, Holly? You don't even bother to get along with the LEP officers-" "Most of which spend their time looking at a bunch of magazines that tell them how to attract someone!" she snapped, forgetting who she was arguing with. "Why couldn't you just-"  
  
This time, it was the commander's turn to interrupt her, which he did, with great glee. "No, Captain, we are NOT about to get a female department. Look at YOUR record. Two failed assignments. In a row. Not to mention you cause havoc in the LEP all by yourself. You don't need any help from a bunch of giggling bimbos. We give you a few more decades, the LEP is going to fall apart anyway." He added thoughtfully, scratching his nearly bald head.  
  
"Out of 6,531 assignments, I fail TWO. Big deal." she fired snappishly. She was just SO tired of the female stereotype that everyone seemed to just LOVE to inflict her with. Even that stupid Mud Boy.  
  
"No back talk!" barked the commander. Holly lowered her gaze, and spent her time glaring at the floor, which had about the same effect that glaring at the commander would've given her.  
  
"Now," said the commander, when he had managed to calm down, and led her to his office, where he sat down, and gestured for her to stand again when she tried to take a seat. "You know anything about the mission? I know the lower levels gossip a lot." He added, face turning red again.  
  
Holly shook her head. "No, nothing." She said innocently, face open and friendly. Root glowered. "Alright, Short. Fifty gold coins if you tell me what they told you." Holly's mouth remained clamped shut. Root cursed and tossed her two large gold coins.  
  
She smirked. Ever since they had docked her pay for half a decade, she had been paid by Root to tell him gossip. Fifty per news. More money than she'd ever earn just from her normal job had come pouring in. "They say something about going above ground." She told him truthfully. "And," she hesitated. Root began to glower again, so she hastily finished her sentence. "Artemis Fowl."  
  
"They're right." He retorted, lighting a particularly noxious cigar. He cursed. "Where do they get their sources?" "Don't know, sir." Replied Holly, her face again open and friendly. Root snorted. "Fine," he spat, "we'll leave that topic alone. Now about Artemis Fowl."  
  
"What about him, sir?" Though she thought him a bit too clever for anyone's good, Holly was actually very fond of the little brat. Or rather, she amended, as she remembered exactly how tall "the little brat" had been the last time she had seen him. Fine, she thought to her rebellious mind, the BIG brat.  
  
Root grumbled miserably. "He's been spotted on a jet to Greece." He finally managed. Holly caught her breath in the middle of a yawn. "And who do we know is in Greece, mean, and will paralyze any LEP she sets her eyes on?" Holly moaned. "Don't tell me this is my mission!" she groaned. Root rested his eyes on her, perfectly serious.  
  
"Go and neutralize the Medusa."  
  
Ooh. Nice mission, huh? This is going to set them on a crash course. But what's the big surprise? Well, I'll tell you. Chapter 3 OR 4. Depends in how good a mood I am. *grin grin* I have a hint for you: R-E-V-I-E- W!!!!!!!!! Okies? NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!! *smirk*  
  
Luv Y'all,  
  
~Trisani 


	3. A Clashing of Minds

Out of despair and the fact that Stardust Firebolt has come to her senses and abandoned me *sob*, my other Artemis Fowl story has been halted until I can overcome my desperateness for having the most reviews in the Artemis Fowl section.  
  
Goodbye. *falls off a bridge*  
  
Trisani  
  
Thanks to Artemis Fowl the Second, slime frog, Eleida, Meshdo (get out of my sight, cranky! But wait until you've reviewed, please.), Lilyanna and Pink-Cherry-Blossom. And the one-whose-name-is-not-to-be-mentioned because she's a better writer than me *grumbles*. Sorry for taking so long!  
  
Disclaimer: I will never, ever own Artemis Fowl. *Gets out of the river and falls off another bridge*  
  
Now here's the story:  
  
A Clashing of Minds:  
  
In the LEP office:  
  
"What's my vehicle this time, Foaly? One of those little antique things that Mud Men like to drive around?" demanded Holly, rolling her eyes. Her eyes were hazel-colored shadows, with little purple smudges under them, and she looked as if she hadn't slept for a week. It just showed that appearances could be deceiving. In reality, she hadn't slept for a week and a half. But, unfortunately, Foaly didn't fall for the baited trap that she laid for him, and silently led her to the chute bays. Holly frowned. This had to be serious. Foaly was, for once, keeping his mouth shut. What was this, the world's end?  
  
She ran a hand through her buzz cut auburn hair, and strapped a helmet on. "What, is the great Foaly nervous that one of his inventions is going to break down midway through the lava, and the great pilot Holly Short is going to crash and die?" she joked nervously, her eyes never flickering away for more than a second from Foaly's clomping hooves. He finally stopped his exasperating silence, which was also completely unlike the normal Foaly, and turned and faced her. She gulped heavily. For all his sarcasm, and jokes, Foaly really knew how to make an impression. Having him being taller than her helped, too.  
  
"Holly." He said, looking solemn, his tombstone teeth bared, in a grotesque, worried grin. "Yes, that's my name. You rang?" His eyes didn't waver, but she could've sworn she saw a flicker of amusement. "This might be a little dangerous." He said, walking backwards. Holly resisted the urge to grin. You haven't seen the funniest thing in the world until you watch a centaur walk backwards while you imagine him wearing a tinfoil hat, looking for all the world like an extremely paranoid Mud Man.  
  
"Yeah, Foaly, I didn't know that going after the Medusa was going to be a little dangerous." She began sarcastically, pitching her voice high and whiny, like a civilian's. "I didn't know that THE MEDUSA HAS A GLARE THAT CAN TURN PEOPLE TO STONE!" Foaly looked annoyed. "That wasn't what I meant!" he whinnied sharply, brining his hooves down with a crack. "I meant that there might be outside forces besides the Medusa!"  
  
Did he think that she hadn't considered that option before? "Foaly, the monstrosity was dead for a long, long time. She had her throat cut. Of course there are going to be outside forces." He frowned. "Even so," he said, "I think I should warn you that the LEP has no faith in your skills anymore, and they weren't so sure you had any at all. Actually, I wasn't sure why they kept you either!" Ah, the old Foaly, who couldn't resist a wisecrack, was back.  
  
"So? The news that the Council doesn't trust me, that's really old news." She grinned deprecatingly at Foaly. "What's the matter, lost your subscription to the Little People's Herald because the deliverer couldn't stand your jokes anymore?" He glared at her. "Can't you see I'm trying to be Doom-Bearer here? Quit messing up my lines! Um. . Ugh, you miserable LEP jock you've made me forget my lines!" Holly smirked at him. "I can't help it." She said breezily. "It's my job."  
  
"So?" she added. "What's the big problem?" Foaly cleared his throat, suddenly very amused and a bit scared of telling her what was going on, and the consequences behind it. Luckily he had already made his will. "Since the LEP has to trust you as the girl test case, because one of their best officers," here Foaly smirked. "Threatened to resign if they removed you from your position, all they can do is mumble a bunch of political jumble of words at you about how the world is going to end because you're still the girl test case, even though you helped Artemis Fowl recover his father."  
  
"So?" she said again, extremely bored. "Foaly, they've done this before. It's not that big a deal to me." "Yes, but for this mission, they've assigned you a partner. The-" here he dropped his voice conspiratorially. "The Bimbo."  
  
Holly groaned loudly, almost catching the attention of some male officers leaning on. . She almost fell over when she saw the shiny new pods that they were casually climbing into. "Holly, I didn't know the jaw dropping look was in this year." Quipped the centaur ironically. Holly shut her mouth (literally) but couldn't stop gawking inwardly. "But the budget. . What about the budget. . What about, oh D'Arvit, I sound like you!" she said, annoyed, and left Foaly's company to go run her hands over the newest one.  
  
It was a sleek, shiny one, more built for stealth and speed than anything else, but had seats made of leather, and was modeled after the Atlantean ambassador's pod from last year, though with considerable more. . Attack options. And certainly equipped with lots more interesting buttons to push. Holly wondered dreamily if one of them would get rid of incredibly cryptic centaurs, who were technician geniuses.  
  
"Ah, Holly." Foaly sounded almost pitying as he interrupted her daydream that involved Foaly, the pod, an extremely hot magma flare, and an explosion. "Here are the keys to your pod. The one you're staring at." Holly blinked. "You know," she laughed. "I could've almost sworn I heard you say that you were giving me the keys to the pod I was staring at." "That's because I did say that, Holly."  
  
He was grinning insanely. Foaly's life was dedicated to driving people nuts. He had a feeling this "nut" was about to "crack". "You're kidding." She said dully, her eyes glazed over with hope. "Nope. All yours." Foaly made his voice maddeningly cheerful. "Unfortunately, she comes with-" he stopped when the pod door began to slide open to reveal. .  
  
Corporal Lili Frond, the symbol behind the lively prejudice towards female Recon officers. At exactly four feet, two inches shorter than the average male sprite, she made a very attractive-looking sight, without even mentioning her flawless green eyes and eerily shining white-gold hair, both of which were frequently mentioned in love poems written for her. Holly pitied the girl. Anyone who had to read more than one ballad from Chix Verbil, who was incredibly fickle, was a cursed sprite indeed.  
  
Lili Frond bounced out of the vehicle, her solemn face transforming into a glowing smile beyond imagination that made her even more beautiful. Holly grudgingly smiled back, her muscles churning in disgust. No wonder people were so disdainful of her. But she owed the girl the respect that all officers deserved, even one who was only a corporal. "Hello! I'm Lili Frond!" she grinned. "You must be my partner, Holly Short! I've heard all about you from last year of course, you were the one who was involved in the," here Lili dropped into a respectful whisper. "The Artemis Fowl incident."  
  
For the second time that day, Holly resisted the urge to grin. "He wasn't such a strong Mud Boy after all, he was only-" " I wasn't talking about that!" Lili Frond said disdainfully, shaking her golden curls. She lowered her voice further. "That Artemis Boy, he was quite sweet looking, wasn't he? I digitally changed his scowl into a smile, and he looks very kind! I have it up on my bedroom wall, with everyone else." She added shamelessly. Holly stared at her. It had never occurred to her that Lili was as much of an idiot as she had thought. She'd always thought that Frond had made it through because of some. . Some great talent that she possessed.  
  
"So, how'd you do on the entrance tests for the LEP?" she asked, trying to sound friendly. "Oh," Lili waved them away. "They copied tests scores off some other girl who was trying out, poor soul, and made mine just a little bit better. You see, they say that I'm so smart; I probably wouldn't have to take those tests! Now, come, we're wasting time, and I want to go save the world!" and she began walking away in her high heeled combat boots, only stopping to demand: "Are you coming or not, Holly Short? This is my big chance to get famous, and meet Mud-Boy at the same time!"  
  
Holly was stuck there, mesmerized, and paralyzed by shock. The only other girl officer had gotten in because some idiot, probably mesmerized by the girl's almost statuesque-like beauty had changed her scores by copying (most likely) HOLLY'S test answers, and filling in the ones they knew were wrong. She simply stood there, feeling like a fool. Lili had already gotten on the shuttle. "Are you coming?" she demanded impatiently.  
  
Holly looked back at Foaly, who was shaking with laughter. He was probably listening to the whole thing, she thought rebelliously, glaring at him. He sobered, and walked over to her. "Holly, in case you don't get back, being turned to stone and all, I want you to have this." It was a formless lump of blue, pencil thin, and about as long as Holly's tapered index finger, but as Holly stared at it, the blue shifted and changed over and over, until she could no longer bear looking at it. "What is that thing?" she demanded of Foaly. He looked indignant. "Riskless nuclear play-dough." He said sulkily. "It was my first invention, which I made in kindergarten."  
  
She stared at him. "You made invulnerability to nuclear things in KINDERGARTEN?" she demanded. "Well." Said Foaly, faking a blush, and a careless wave, "Yes. But it only works in small doses of play dough. If you put too much of the play dough together, they create a nuclear explosion, and chaos ensues. But if you mold that lump over an acorn, for some reason it switches your body with the person it touches next. Or you could give it to Frond, and get her to switch with you. It's reusable, unlike the ugly stuff that Mud Men mine." He added, making a "Doom voice". She made a face at him. "And I hope you enjoy your time with Frond!" He cracked, grinning. She glared daggers at him, on her guard again, and, on her way to the shuttle, promised that the centaur would find a few buttons on the shuttle pressed in his honor. She preferred the big, red, and ominous looking one.  
  
In Athens, Greece:  
  
"You saw her? The girl of the snake hair? Where was she?" Artemis' voice was sharp, and angry, as he spat out Greek in staccato syllables. The shepherd nodded fearfully, and spoke quickly, scrambling the already difficult to understand language that Artemis had learned just two months before this trip. Luckily, his mother might have been cured of her disease, but she still thought that sending Artemis on "stress-relieving" trips were a good idea. He shook his head. Fond of his mother as he was, it was still an amazement to him how she had managed to breed a genius.  
  
He rubbed his head tiredly. Ever since they had landed, he had both himself and Butler into a wild goose chase from one side of the island to the other. This was the fourth lead, and he hoped that it would be the right one. Any more trips during the day, now the only time the shepherds were willing to come out, and he would lose his trademark paleness, which would be a terrible shame, though some criminal authorities would find it harder to find him. He looked awful with a tan, and they weren't prepared to see that.  
  
"Repeat, slowly this time, please." He said, trying to make his voice as soothing as an impatient fourteen-year-old criminal mastermind can go. The shepherd calmed down a bit, and sputtered meaningless bouts of "south" and "snakes like warmth". Artemis rolled his eyes. Didn't they think that he knew that? He was planning to move further south, much to Juliet's delight, because "the rays were so much better there."  
  
"Thank you." He said coldly, cutting short the older man's babblings. The shepherd fell silent, then burst into a frenzy of how youngsters should be kind to their elders, after all who was the one who raised them, and who protected them. Artemis left, unruffled, and the old man made a rude gesture at him. Immediately Butler appeared. "Should I go get him, Artemis?" he queried. Artemis smiled icily. "I think we can leave him his life, intact for today at least." He said coolly, and Butler nodded, and guided him to the limousine, not that Artemis couldn't have found it by himself anyway.  
  
"How did the interview go?" Butler asked as soon as they got back to the car. He opened the sleek white door of the limousine, and Artemis got in. Artemis gave a careless wave. "Oh, another insane little babbler." He said with indifference. Then he raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you listening, Butler?" "Well, it was all in Greek." Butler defended himself. "A language with which you are quite familiar with, due to the little incident in, oh, a decade past. And I seem to recall that it was in this area, too." Butler broke into a cold sweat. What was it about Artemis, that he knew so much of Butler's past? Artemis smiled, a sight that Butler would've preferred not have directed at him.  
  
"Next time, don't lie to me, Butler. Your nostrils flare out when you do so to me, and if you must lie, try to make it more authentic." Artemis said softly, and turned to his solar-powered laptop, the new one that he had bought after Foaly had refused to relinquish his old one, after the "Arctic Incident", as he liked to refer to it. Butler turned his head back to the front, and continued driving.  
  
A few moments later, Artemis said something. "I didn't hear you, Artemis." Said his manservant. "What did you say?" "I said, where are we going?" replied the younger boy. "Why, to the Hotel to meet Juliet, of course." Said Butler, keeping his nostrils out of sight. Artemis sighed again. "Must you lie so much?" he asked. "How could you tell this time?" demanded his exasperated bodyguard. Artemis smiled slightly. "I have my ways. Now where are we going?"  
  
"I have an idea of where the Medusa might be." Said his bodyguard finally. "And we'll just leave it at that." "Ah, you and your past." Said his charge softly. "I was wondering when you were prepared to admit that you had something to do with. . The current situation." "It wasn't my fault!" said Butler desperately, wildly, completely out of character for him. "She persuaded me to do it! She said that-" He stopped there, realizing just what he'd given Artemis.  
  
Artemis regarded him the way a cat watches tuna, though with a bit of disgust mixed in. "Fine." He said, his voice flat. "I could, of course, order you to tell me, but we'll just leave it at that, and I will find out at the most inappropriate moment." "Artemis-" "I don't want to hear it, Butler." His manservant sighed heavily. What was wrong with Artemis?  
  
At that moment, though Artemis cried out. "Halt!" he yelled, and Butler screeched to a stop. "What's wrong with you, Artemis? Couldn't you see that- " Artemis wordlessly pointed at a rock up ahead, on a hill. "I couldn't get too close to the target." He said, his voice cold. "She would turn me to stone before I managed to even greet her in Gnommish." "Gnommish? You mean she's-" Butler began, and was interrupted again.  
  
"Yes, there is a distant possibility that she belongs with fairykind." Artemis replied before Butler could even finish his question. "Artemis," said his bodyguard sternly, "You promised no more interactions with fairykind!" "Yes, but this isn't fairykind. This is a Greek Myth character." Replied the boy, trying to seem casual, and slipped out before his bodyguard could protest any further, and his acquiescent Butler followed.  
  
If Stardust Firebolt ever comes back, after all her fame and glory of 100 reviews, is this long enough, finally?!  
  
For the rest of you, PLEASE REVIEW!!  
  
An extremely jealous of slime frog and Stardust Firebolt,  
  
~Trisani 


	4. When Darkness Meets Shadows

Myth or Truth?  
  
To Thea the Elf, rose_gal, slime frog, Isis, Kelti, EMerald Queen, Big Friendly Walrus, zorro, and mousie, who reviewed even when it was way in the back with all the other great, classical (and unupdated) fics of Artemis Fowl Fandom. Thanks for the review, but I NEED constructive criticism. My muse just went on vacation, so this might not be as good as usual, and kind of short, but it's the best I can do now. I'm sorry.  
  
This chapter is mainly Artemis. Next chapter will be mainly Holly. I remember at some point I actually had a strict plan for this series, but then I encountered a pitfall, and have to go another way. Sorry for the inconvenience!  
  
Now, on with the fic!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She lay flat on a rock, drowsing in the sun after having sunk her teeth into the sheep. It hadn't been cooked, or even burnt with the primitive fire that she used now, but it had nourished her, and her snakes had needed the blood. Lovingly, she caressed the smallest one; a stunted garden snake that still wasn't growing, much to her dismay, and it flicked a forked tongue out at her.  
  
The sudden rumble of a metal machine (car, she reminded herself firmly, it didn't do to live in the past and call them by the names she had used when she had still been young and ignorant. A few decades past now) alerted her to possible danger. She let her tongue flicker out, forked like her fellows', tasting the air for a new scent to the area. And she found it.  
  
It smelled of money and gold, stank of it in a way that most people didn't know how to produce, and the meat (flesh, she corrected herself) underneath it smelled young and tender, without the dense, tough muscle to chew through. And she recognized the faint arrogant dominance that radiated off the new being as a male sort of thing. She smiled, relaxing again, baring her fangs in a way that humans considered friendly, but she considered her own personal warning before she tore someone apart.  
  
And then she smelt the other scent.  
  
Freezing in her tracks as she began to sit up, she carefully analyzed the new smell. It had a military, tidy but blocky, feel to it. Of course, the last time she'd smelled this odor, it had been younger, and not quite so experienced. And the new money-boy had not been with him, or else she would have recognized them both. Her enhanced senses would have told her about them, but they had not. And now they were coming for her, of that, she had no doubt. What else could they want?  
  
She lay back down, her white fangs now gleaming in the sun, muscles tensed, her body ready for a sudden leap upwards. She was a predator by nature, and she knew that when fate chose to bring you food on a golden plate, you would be wise not to question it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"There doth yonder treasures lie. Beyond gold and jewels prized." Artemis said cryptically, his blue eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed in a position that Butler knew very well. Knew well enough not to question, at any rate. The Master didn't take to questioning very well.  
  
"Shouldn't I go first, Artemis? In case there are some rather nasty surprises." Butler asked, tacking on the ending when he recalled that Artemis would not like being treated like a child any longer. He had began the non-tolerance policy not long ago.. The Master had developed such a stubborn streak for flinging himself headlong into possible dangers nowadays. Butler blamed it all on his turning fourteen, and his mother having decided to send him to an all-male boarding school.  
  
Oh, and the fact that he'd been cheating grown men out of their possessions probably added to it all.  
  
Artemis smiled coolly. He wasn't so cold as not to recognize genuine concern when he saw it, and not so self-absorbed that he couldn't use it when he needed it. "Yes, of course, Butler, do go ahead. I believe she's just about to sink her teeth into us anyway. But we'll be turned into statues before that happens. We needn't worry about such things." His voice dripped of sarcasm and obvious disdain.  
  
Butler stopped, turning around, enquiring. Artemis was rather formal to others of his age, he knew, but most of the time, he'd had nothing to complain about from Artemis himself. This turning fourteen-thing was really grating on Butler's nerves. "Should I go first or not, Artemis?" he asked, a shade less politely than usual.  
  
Artemis detected the change in tone immediately, and switched voices, changing from an extremely sarcastic teenager to the voice that Butler thought of as normal; a firm, Masterly tone. "Of course you should go first, Butler." He replied. "I was merely warning you that she would attack unless you let me say something first."  
  
"Of course." Butler replied courteously, stepping back.  
  
As if the place belonged to him by right (and it probably did. He wasn't a Fowl for nothing) Artemis took his place, first setting a pair of very familiar goggles on his head, twiddling with several of the options. He looked rather harmless just then, his black hair glinting in the sun, his eyes, while slightly wary (like any smart teenager's) were calm and a serene blue just then (if anyone could have seen them from under the goggles). He looked almost normal, a strange condition for any un-average Fowl. Then he began spitting out several words in Staccato Gnommish, too fast for Butler to catch them. And whatever part of the speech he managed to hear properly carefully slipped out of his mind's reach, cackling evilly.  
  
The Medusa took two steps towards Artemis, and froze, her face contorted and bulging with several emotions of greed and hunger, changing suddenly to hate when she began attempting to twitch, to move at all. Butler could see the air around her practically vibrating with the urgency to move, to live, to do anything at all that would prove she was more than a mere realistic statue.  
  
Artemis took a few steps away from her, not in fear, but in pride as a hunter takes pride in something that he has caught and skinned for himself. Handing Butler a pair of goggles, which the manservant quickly strapped on, he began his speech. (Which he had researched for, written and learned himself. A key factor in being a good villain was a good victory speech.)  
  
"See her, Butler?" he asked calmly. "Snake-Born, The Face that Made a Thousand Statues, She Who Killed a Nation, she's been reduced to eating raw meat, giving in to her desires for blood. I doubt any of the Underground would take you in now." He remarked offhandedly in Gnommish. The monster's eyes widened in surprise at being spoken to in her own tongue, and narrowed again in suspicion.  
  
"What.. do.. you... want.. human?" she grated out, without managing to move her mouth. Stopping, she looked extremely surprised at being able to speak. Artemis smiled his vampire smile.  
  
"It's merely a binding. You can go whenever you wish, so long as I extract a promise from you not to harm either Butler or myself, and to comply with our requests." He replied to her unasked question, not answering the one she had really posed to him, calmly infuriating her.  
  
"I.. am.. willing.. to.. serve.. you.. and.. not.. harm.. you.. in.. return.. for.. my.. release.." she replied, spitting out each syllable as if they were something disgusting, something to be hated. Like Artemis himself, although he really couldn't care less. This monstrosity was the key to unlocking.. something. Even Artemis himself wasn't sure what it was, only that it was barely hinted of in all fairy myths that he had ever read. He didn't know. But he intended to find out.  
  
"Quanen Thus." He said, speaking the two words that would release her, and she fell to her knees. Rubbing her joints, she got up, openly glaring at him. Ignoring it, he looked openly back. Butler did nothing. There was no violence, so there was really nothing he had to do. She wasn't acknowledging his presence, that was good. As long as she didn't admit she knew him in front of Artemis, he was safe.  
  
The Medusa's muscles tensed, all her instincts screaming for her to attack the threat. Kill him and get away as fast as possible. This was a dangerous duo, a tricky situation, and she wouldn't be able to talk her way out of this one. Die here, and she was dead.  
  
"So what did you want me for?" she asked warily.  
  
Artemis smiled again, his own brand of predatory instinct. "Why don't we go back to the hotel to discuss that?"  
  
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Like it? Hate it? Think that I can do better? Tell me and I will do better! I hope. REVIEW!  
  
~Trisani 


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